Nationals announce manager Robinson won't return
Frank Robinson will not return as the Washington Nationals' manager in 2007, the team announced Saturday, a day before its season will end with a third consecutive last-place finish.
The Hall of Famer was told during the week he wouldn't be back, and made that clear to reporters. But the Nationals didn't make the news official until a few hours beforeSaturday'sgame against the New York Mets.
Robinson, 71,has managed the Expos-Nationals franchise for the past five seasons. As the most-recognizable member of a team that moved from Montreal to Washington before the 2005 season, he became the face of the franchise in the nation's capital.
Robinson joined the club when it was still in Montreal and was purchased by Major League Baseball in 2002. The Expos went 83-79 in each of Robinson's first two seasons, finishing second and fourth, before sinking to 67-95 in 2004.
"He took care of this team when no one really wanted to," catcher Brian Schneider said this week.
Robinson guided the Nationals through its magical first half of 2005, filled with comebacks and one-run wins en route to a 50-31 record and first place in July. But a second-half fade left the Nationals at 81-81.
As a manager over 16 seasons with four teams, Robinson never approached the success he had as a power-hitting outfielder who ranks sixth in major-league history with 586 home runs.
He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1956, the NL MVP in 1961 and the AL MVP in 1966, when he won the Triple Crown.
As a player-manager for the Cleveland Indians in 1975, he became the first black manager in major-league history, and won 1989 AL Manager of the Year honours while with the Baltimore Orioles.
On April 20, he became the 53rd manager with 1,000 victories. But his overall record is 1,065-1,086 with no post-season appearances.
Rough start to season
This season, with an already thin roster beset by injuries and a rough early road schedule, the Nationals began with an 8-18 record and never recovered.
In May, baseball picked a group led by local real estate developer Ted Lerner and Kasten to buy the team for $450 million US. Kasten has talked about taking a patient approach to rebuilding; the goal is for the team to be strong for a new ballpark's planned opening in 2008.
Robinson was a vice-president in the commissioner's office in charge of on-field discipline when Bud Selig gave him the Expos' managing job in February 2002, right before the start of spring training. At the time, Robinson said it would be for just one year.
He finished third in NL Manager of the Year voting after that season, and stuck around. But he was operating under one-year contracts, and the latest was set to expire Oct. 31.